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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010
On a strained 9/11 anniversary, president says U.S. will stay ‘a diverse and tolerant nation’
annivesary from A1
the capital a few hours later, a group of several hundred “tea party” activists paraded down Constitution Avenue, one carry- ing a sign of rebuttal: “America Is Tired of Tolerance.” In the past week, the proposal
for an Islamic center near the site of the destroyed Twin Towers, debate about the role ofMuslims in American life and a fringe pastor’s threats to burn theKoran allhave rubbed rawthe fissures of a divided nation, battered eco- nomically and undergoing soci- etal restructuring. The Rev. Terry Jones declared
on NBC’s “Today” show Saturday that he was abandoning for good his plan toburnIslam’s holy book, a threat that had touched off worldwide fury and prompted warnings from top U.S. leaders who said it would endanger troops at war. In Afghanistan, though protesters clashed with security forces, there were no reports of attacks atU.S. bases. As a show of solidarity with
Jones, Randall Terry, of the anti- abortion group Operation Res- cue, and an assistant tore out pages of aKoraninLafayettePark across from the WhiteHouse.The act was largely unnoticed by tour- istswhomilled about, taking pho- tographs. The first service of the day took
place in LowerManhattan, with a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., the time that the first hijacked jetliner struck the north tower of theWorld Trade Center. Relatives of the victims and workers help- ing to construct a memorial read the names of more than 2,700 dead, as they do each year. Their unsteady voices were a reminder of the way in which the terrorist attacks have been com- memorated — as upwellings of personal grief, undiluted by time. Donna Marsh O’Connor, who
lost her pregnant 29-year-old daughter, Vanessa, on that day nine years ago, said she couldn’t bear to attend the Ground Zero ceremony. She planned to return Saturday afternoon to her home in Syracuse, N.Y., where she is a professor of writing and rhetoric at Syracuse University, and keep the TV switched off and play with her dog, Lando. The debate over whether to
build the Islamic center near Ground Zero has imbued the day with unwelcome bitterness and rancor, she said. “This is the hardest anniversa-
ry since,” she said. “These are heartbreaking times. They’re painful. They are scary as hell.” Jones, the Gainesville, Fla. pas-
torwhothreatened toburncopies of the Koran, was met by police when he arrived in New York on Saturday and was not seen in the hours that followed. By 3 p.m., several hundred pro-
testers had gathered into two city blocks near the proposed Park 51 Islamic center, waving American flags and chanting “U.S.A.,U.S.A.” and “No mosque.” The “Rally of Remembrance” event featured speeches from conservative fig- ures such as former U.N. Ambas- sador John Bolton — who spoke via video — and keynote speaker Geert Wilders, an anti-Islam Dutch politician. Nearby, Maureen Santora — a
CAROL GUZY/THE WASHINGTON POST ImamAliHassan of Staten Island speaks as a woman passes with a sign saying“Muslim = Terrorism.”
schoolteacher from Astoria and the mother of firefighter Christo- pher Santora, who was killed on Sept. 11—held a large banner that read “No mosque on our ceme- tery.” She said it was a “difficult decision” for her family — her husband, four daughters and four grandchildren — to come to the rally on the ninth anniversary of her son’s death. She said that Muslims have
worshiped peacefully in her neighborhoodandinLowerMan- hattan for years. “It has nothing to do with
Muslims and nothing to do with mosques. It has to do with the closeness to Ground Zero. That’s the offensive point. It’s very sim- ple. It’s not complicated,” Santora said.
She continued: “This was a
difficult decision for us to do this. I believe inmy heart andmy soul my son wouldwantmetodothis.” A short distance away, a crowd
of about 300 supporters of the Islamic cultural center marched to the site, about two blocks from Ground Zero. Chanting “unity now,” the marchers — a coalition
In Fla., the freedom to be torn First ladies pay tribute in Pa. S
itting atHairHunters salon on Saturday after- noon in Gainesville, Fla., it seemed that al- though the city was spared a Koran-burning,
the questions stirred by the non-event will linger. Between customers, stylists Chris Leggett, 25,
andMike Bennett, 59, said they were torn: They deemed Pastor Terry Jones “an idiot” and his plan to torch Islam’s holy book an embarrassment to a sunny college town that prides itself on being more diverse and tolerant than many other communities in the region. But there was something about the hysteria surrounding Jones’s plan that felt wrong – isn’t America about freedom? Even to do something stupid and offensive? And something about some of his views that, well, resonated just a tad. “I go back and forth,” said Leggett, who grewup
in the area.We allow people to do whatever they want.Why can’t he? People do whatever they want to us, burn flags. Why can’t [Jones] strike back?” A Christian, Bennett said he thought Jesus would
have prayed with DoveWorld Outreach Center con- gregants, or ignored them— he would not have slammed them. Bennett thought of a time when a Muslim customer at the salon asked if he could work in another place while her hair was uncov- ered.However embarrassing Jones and his plans were, “that’s what upsets people. You’re coming into our country and trying to change our culture.” But the stylists agreed that cancellation of the
Koran-burning was a good thing. Church members were noticeably absent from
the Dove property Saturday. A rare appearance was when someone came out to remove from the lawn the huge banner that had advertised “International Burn a Koran Day.” Bouquets of red roses and white daisies sat outside the front door, including one ad- dressed to “Respected Pastor Terry Jones.” — Michelle Boorstein
T
hey sat onstage, one ingray andthe other in cream, the first lady andherpredecessor, as 40 bell tolls rang for 40souls lost.Before that,
they stoodside by side, observing the crashsite of UnitedAirlinesFlight 93, one seeing the flag-marked space for the first time, the otherwiththememory of a scorchedfieldandfreshgrief. MichelleObama andLauraBushgreetedFlight 93
families inawhite tent onawindswepthill away fromcameras, offeringhugs,photos andhealing. They thentook to thepodium, ovations greeting both, eachwithadifferentpart of the story to tell. Bush,whoseWhiteHouse yearswere shapedby
the Sept. 11 attacks, spoke of terrorismandevil that gaveway toheroismandcompassion, recalling the unity of thatday, theprayers spokenindifferent voices andtongues. “Nine years ago, inthe skies above this field, and
inWashingtonandNewYorkCity,we sawtheworst of our enemy andthe best of ournation,” she said. Obama spoke of service andsacrifice, telling the
stories of thosewhohatcheda boldplantodowna plane they knewhadbecome aweapon. “Andto thisday, they remindus—not just byhow
they gave their lives, but byhowthey livedtheir lives — that being ahero isnot just amatter of fate, it’s a matter of choice,” she said. DeborahBorza,whohas visitedthehilltopevery
year to rememberherdaughter,DeoraBodley, said she sat andallowedherself to bemovedby the first ladies. “I’mhoping everyonehada sense of being taken
care of by theirpresencehere,” she said. “We felt at homewithMrs.Bush, andnowathomewithMrs. Obama.”
—Nia-MalikaHenderson
of many liberal and civil rights groups — held signs that said “U.S. tolerates all religions” and “No to racism and anti-Muslim bigotry.” Muslim prayer services are normally held at the site, but it was padlocked Friday and closed Saturday, the official end of the holy month of Ramadan. Police planned 24-hour patrols in the coming days. Worshipers on Fri- day were redirected to a prayer room 10 blocks away. Several feet away, 17-year-old Brooklyn resident Hannah Moch
l Tariq Ramadan: Even now, Muslims must believe in America. B1 O CAROL GUZY/THE WASHINGTON POST
ShelleyMagan and StephenVan Natten of Allentown, Pa., at the ceremony at Ground Zero.
said she objected to people turn- ing Sept. 11 into a political forum. “I was here, I was 8 years old,”
she said. “Today is about the victims!” “Today is about freedom of speech!” yelled an older man standing a fewfeet away. “Nosharia law!” amanshouted
from the other side ofMoch. The dueling protests in New
York were a prelude to more street debate expected later Sat- urday in Anchorage, Ala., where Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin were to appear at a convention center. The two had sold nearly 4,000 tickets, priced between $73 and $225, and they had attracted the attention of an Alaskan woman who organized a small group to protest what she called Beck and Palin’s “intolerant fear-monger-
Strong views at Ground Zero
na crystallineday reminiscent of Sept. 11, 2001,LowerManhattanwas alivewithhu- manity –Mennonites inwhite caps sang
hymns, bagpipers inkiltsmarched, tourists andNew Yorkerswanderedaroundtheperimeter ofGround Zero, some stopping to argue for, or against, the con- structionof anIslamic centernear the site. Theday’sdebates includedone betweenHannah
Moch, a 17-year oldBrooklynresidentwhowore a miniskirt andboots, andanoldermanwithshaggy hair sticking out fromunder a trucker’s cap. “Iwashere, Iwas 8 years old,”Mochcriedout. “To-
day is about the victims!” “Today is about freedomof speech!” the anti-
mosqueprotester yelled. “You’ve gotno right to talk!” “Whynot?” saidMoch. “Because you’re Islam!” “No, I’mnot,” she said. “I’mJewish. I’mJewishand
Christian.Today is Sept. 11, andIdon’t think today is aday to argue.” Sometimes, the two sidesdidnot evenget close
enoughto talk.Mosque opponent ScottBlack, 48, saidhe fearedforhis life at the site. “Idon’tmeanto be overly romantic, but Iwrote a
farewell letter tomywife andchildrenandmailedit thismorning before I camedownhere, just incase,” saidthe salesmanfromSouthCarolina. “Youhave this crowd,Muslimextremists could
set off a bomb, there couldbe a riot anda lot ofpeo- ple couldbehurt,”Black said. Across the street, MohamedM. Sozon, aMuslim
wearing awhite cottontunic andcap,madehisway past apizzaplace andanIndianrestaurant. A soft-spokenmanwho lives inBrooklyn, Sozon
saidhehadcome “to support the other side of the program.”
—TaraBahrampour
NIKKI KAHN/THE WASHINGTON POST
Relatives of victims attend a memorial service at the Pentagon in Arlington, where President Obama laid a wreath and said that Americans “never will be at war with Islam.” ing.”
One spot of bipartisan comity
took place on a rolling green hill in Pennsylvania, where former first lady Laura Bush and first ladyMichelleObamaspoke about the inspiring action and unity among the 40 passengers of Flight 93, who overcame the hi- jackers and forced the plane down in Shanksville. “It was following the tragic
events of that September morn- ing that we saw ‘the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living,’ said Bush, who that morning was in the Capitol, the iconic dome of which is believed to have been the target of Flight 93. “We sawit here as Shanksville’s first responders rushed to this field . . . and in the endurance of all those who worked past exhaustion to rescue people trapped in the towers and the Pentagon.” As Obama’s eyes filled with
tears,Bushrememberedhowmil- lions gave blood and went to memorial services, and she noted that they said their prayers “in English,Hebrewand Arabic.” Saying that “Americans have
nodivision” in mourning the loss- es of that day, Bush added: “We still feel the wound of September 11.”
Staff writers Michelle Boorstein, Nia- Malika Henderson, Annie Gowen, Tara Bahrampour, Donna St. George and Ernesto Londoño. Londoño reported from Kabul.
gerharta@washpost.com fahrenthold@washpost.com
In Afghanistan, relative quiet T
heninthanniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks thatdrewaU.S.-ledforce toAfghanistanwas markedby ahandful ofprotests, although
mostAfghans spent theday celebrating the endof Ramadan. Thousands ofprotesters irate at thenow-canceled
planby a small churchinFlorida to burncopies of Is- lam’sholy book took to the streets inLogarprovince, according to theAssociatedPress.But theFlorida pastor’sdecisionto call off the bonfire, aswell as Americans’ repudiationof theplan, appearedto stave off violence. TheAfghanTalibanmarkedthe anniversarywith
a statement calling for the immediatewithdrawal of foreigntroops. “It isnowfornine years thatAfghanistanhas been
burning inthe flames of the invasionof theAmeri- caninvaders, that startedunder thepretext of aveng- ing the September event,” theTalibansaidina state- ment inEnglishpostedonitsWeb site. TheU.S.-ledforcehas “lost the chance ofpeace in
Afghanistan,” the statement said. Inthe years before the Sept. 11 attacks, theTaliban
ruledAfghanistanandgavehavento al-Qaeda, whichcarriedout the attacks. TheU.S. ambassador toAfghanistan,KarlW.
Eikenberry, saidduring a ceremony at the embassy Saturday that theUnitedStates remains committed to bolstering theAfghangovernment. “We arehere inAfghanistantoprevent interna-
tional terrorists fromagainestablishing a safehaven for extremistswhowouldplot towreakhavochere in Afghanistan,America andaroundtheworld,”Eiken- berry said, according to a statement issuedby the embassy. “But letus also rememberhowthismust end— withtheUnitedStates ofAmerica secure froma repetitionof suchviolent terrorist assaults.” —ErnestoLondono, reporting fromKabul
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